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Narrative
'1.0 History/Background' In the far future, technology leads civilization into a golden age after providing solutions to problems that have plagued society for years, solving global starvation, disease, and the division of classes by replacing manual labor with machines that operate on a strict artificial intelligence. Life expectancy rises as a result, and with fertility nearly guaranteed thanks to advances in medicine, the world population soars beyond the limitations of the planet.Once more, technology provides a solution in the form of a space colony called Antares. Over the course of three decades, this becomes the home of over two billion residents, who work to maintain the colony while their children become the first humans born in space.Machines continued to play a large part in the empire of man, and soon their capabilities are extended beyond maintenance outside of the safety of the inner colony. The decision is made to allow a program named DLNR(D'iagnostics '''L'ogistics 'N'avigation and 'R'egulation) to regulate systems involving orbit stability around Earth. This fatal error does not become apparent at first, though later the data would prove that DLNR slowly and systematically brought Antares closer and closer to Earth with each rotation, until it was too late to be stopped and pulled by Earth's gravity into the planet. The end result was an event known as Newton's Demise. As the massive space colony and all two billion residents plunged toward the Eastern Seaboard, the government responded in frantic desperation by attempting to shoot it apart. This only resulted in several pieces falling across the world, crippling the planet with cataclysmic impacts, tsunamis, and nuclear meltdowns. Humanity, for all intents and purposes, was finished.In the darkest hour of mankind, when society's independence over technology had brought it's collapse, a ruthless dictator named Samael Dellinger stepped onto the stage and brought control to the chaos. By controlling the machines, Dellinger was able to first seize the remaining water filtration systems in North America and then rule over people's access to them. Fractured governments and weakened cities fell under his control to gain access to this resource, and soon he became the only superpower in the world. Forcing humans into slavery, he built The Antares, a massive fortress in the sky, to exert his dominance over the land.Not everyone knelt under the banner of Samael Dellinger, however, and soon one person that refused became several. Resistance groups began to rise across the country and began incursions to weaken Dellinger's hold on the water supply. Most attempts ended in failure, as the air superiority that The Antares provided ensured the dictator's grip would not be easily loosened. '''1.1 Game start 1 (Character history) Driven by the necessity of survival, and funded by those few governments that stand in defiance, two mercenaries have been dispatched to The Antares in a final bid to take down the fortress in the sky and end Dellinger's grip on the most precious of all natural resources in a dying world. These three mercenaries, Volpe, Axel, and Dane, are the only ones capable of The Antares Incursion. '1.2 Game start 2 (Soldier Factory history)' Driven by the necessity of survival, and funded by those few governments that stand in defiance, two mercenary organizations have launched separate operations to breach The Antares in a final bid to take down the fortress in the sky and end Dellinger’s grip on the most precious of all natural resources in a dying world. Both organizations have breached the fortress and have established a front line where they operate their own “solder factories” ; portable dispensers that are capable of mass producing synthetic combatants using minimal resources and an adaptive interface that learns from the mistakes of the previous creations. '2.0 Mechanics History' '2.1 Movement' Since the departure from the previous divisions of working classes, implants and upgrades have drawn a new line in the segregation of humanity : those who have upgrades, and those who do not. Initially, the labor workers were first in line to receive enhancements to strength and endurance through muscular implants that promoted tissue development. As science found other ways to seamlessly blend robotics with the human body, every profession found an advantage to an upgrade : doctors and pilots benefited from ocular implants, law enforcement and military personel increased their dexterity and endurance through implants in their legs. Even the scientists discovering the new limits of technology were given neural implants that improved logical deduction and concentration. Those that were not members of the work force, mostly mothers and their children, were not eligible for upgrades, though some formerly-labeled "upper class" children always seemed to find a way to enhance themselves when the government deemed it was not necessary.It has been said that there is a price for everything, and even though the government funded upgrades came free for those that required them to enhance their job performance or increase their quality of life, the one problem that was not solved before Newton's Demise was the constant demand to keep the upgrades cooled through external means, as human physiology could not keep implants cooler than twenty degrees above the body’s temperature. The mass produced solution was found in government operated tanks across the country which offered coolant and operated much alike a water fountain in a building - it was there for everyone to use when the need arose, earning them the unofficial name of Cool Pools. Portable tanks of energy called InstaCold were made commercially available for convenience at a high price. Since Newton's Demise and the collapse of society, the government operated tanks have mostly run dry. Skirmishes and battles over InstaCold reserves are common, especially among people that are either half human/half upgrades, or those that have upgrades in areas of the body that cannot be removed through amputation. '2.2 Boost' This upgrade is part of the standard "conflict class suite" and was administered to police officers, fire fighters, and soldiers around the world. By using double the energy output required for standard movement, this upgrade at it's developmental peak was capable of allowing users to travel at speeds up to 25 miles an hour. Development of this particular upgrade was commercially banned after a scandal at the 2089 Olympics in Switzerland where a Kenyan participant had tested positive for boost augmentation and was stripped of all five gold medals he had won. Up until Newton's Demise, the debate as to include "enhanced events" to the Olympics was still raging among the administration.As with all conflict class upgrades, rival nations competed to increase the output of this upgrade over the years to ensure their soldiers were the best on the planet. This arms race between the most advanced nations made sure that the best boost upgrades were the most fine tuned and superior augmentations on the planet, and that only the most patriotic and finest candidates could receive receive them. '2.3 Shield' A recently developed upgrade that primarily saw it's usage during the development of the Space Colony. With the development of artificial intelligent machines still years away, workers operating in the unrelenting gulf of space frequently found themselves hindered by debris that would otherwise burn up in the atmosphere or continue drifting unchecked through the solar system. The answer to this problem was in the form of an electric shield that used magnetic polarization to "solidify" molecules temporarily into a barrier around the user. Once solidified, debris that encountered the shield in a zero gravity environment would essentially bounce off it.This initial model was not intended to stop projectiles, though military research did find a way to enhance the strength of the polarization. Unfortunately, this technology did not get past the prototype stage before Newton's Demise stopped the research altogether. '2.4 Click' Analysts that lived prior to Newton's Demise attributed the sudden rise of technology to the injection of computer software in nearly every asset of human life. Portable devices became smaller and smaller, giving way to holographic displays and interface methods, and soon the device itself was no longer an accessory - it too became an upgrade.Originally reserved for the system operators and programmers that maintained the information network around the world, this upgrade became a necessity for supervisors and managers when artificial intelligence began to flourish in the field of labor. Following the success of human/machine interactions, artificial intelligence was integrated in other areas of work, and then eventually in homes across the world. The Processing Augmentation Link, or PAL, as it was commercially known as, was made and advertised as the "Least intrusive, most beneficial" upgrade available to anyone who wished to have an artificial intelligence operating in their home. Naturally, it was only a matter of time until other companies developed software and intelligence for the PAL to regulate household temperature, automate driving and entertainment. '3.0 Characters' '3.1 Volpe' A survivor of the collision with Earth and the orbiting Space Colony, Volpe received numerous augmentations to maintain her quality of life. She chose the soldier's path when she learned her family did not survive the collision. Tanner’s notes'' '' Dash: The dash character, known only as Volpe (meaning fox in Italian), has undergone extensive physical augmentation in order to traverse obstacles with enhanced agility, elegance, and speed that would be utterly impossible for a normal human being. An adrenaline junkie known for taking on missions dubbed “suicidal at best,” many have questioned her mental stability, although few would ever mention such conjecture to her face, and fewer still would live past the end of that sentence. Game Friendly Version - 'One of the only survivors of the Newton Space Colony crash. She owes her life to the mercenary organization that found her and provided her with the augments she needed to stay alive. The assault of Antares will be the final mission she needs to complete before she is free of the organization's command. She is notorious for accepting the most dangerous and suicidal missions in hopes that the challenge will prove too great and give her back the death that the organization took from her. '3.2 Axel Reed Considered the most intelligent man alive, Axel has managed to escape form every high tech prison that he has found himself in thanks to his brilliant programing sense and ability to logistically compile code in his mind. He is not much of a fighter however, and often relies on his hacking abilities to solve the problems in the post-collision future. (Tanner’s notes) Click: Axel Reed, our click character, is the first of three protagonists. He is a hacker extraordinaire, brilliant, calculating and devious. Various cerebral and optical augments comprise the majority of his cybernetic parts and are used to elevate his hacking abilities to a level that is simply beyond human. Axel and his trusty drone(not shown but planned for the game) have garnered world renown for their code breaking abilities, and have yet to meet a system that they can’t crack. Game Friendly Version: An orphan with a history of deliquency, his high IQ made him a prime candidate for illegal and highly dangerous brain implant tests through the criminal underworld. When the Newton Space Station fell and the crime lords that helped him seized the global information infrastructure, Axel found himself with only one purpose in life - serve the shadows that made him who he was. '3.3 Dane Wallace' Tanner’s notes'' '' Shield: Our shield character is an ex-marine, Sergeant Dane Wallace, pulled outta retirement for one last job. Known for keeping his laid-back disposition in the face of certain death, he earned his fame for having the lowest fatality rate of any squad leader in the corps. Armed with his handy shield projection augmentations, Dane faces down any obstacle in his path with a smile on his face and a cigar in his mouth. Game Friendly Version: Pulled out of retirement by his former commanding officer, Dane was re-enlisted into the remains of the military for a final desperate mission to stop Dellinger before it's too late. His pleasant demeanor in the face of adversary has earned him the nickname " Chuckles " by squad mates that often question his sanity. '3.4 Commander Samael Dellinger' A ruthless tyrant that rose to power following the collapse of the social order after the Space Colony fell to Earth. Rarely making public appearances, Dellinger continues to terrorize and rule the world from within his sky fortress, Antares. It is later determined that Dellinger is in fact an AI that operates the entire fortress. '3.5 Merchant X ' Found at the end of Antares more nefarious obstacles, Merchant X is a trader that is willing to provide surviving and willing individuals passing through the sky fortress with upgrades and augmentations - for a price. It is not known where Merchant X came from, or why he is helping those that cross his path, but it is believed that the items he is selling come from the bodies of those that had fallen attempting to overtake the fortress in the past. Tanner’s notes '-''The merchant awaits the player between levels to peddle his wares and potentially fill the player in on a bit of the narrative. He grants upgrades to the main cast to help them survive dellinger’s gauntlet of mechanical nightmares. He is basically meant to be the shadiest, most suspicious and untrustworthy looking character that Tanner could come up with. Underneath the coat is a machine pieced together from scraps found here and there, some of which poke out here and there. '''3.6 Gordon and Hershel (Commanding Officer One/Commanding Officer Two) One and Two are the leading force behind the assault on Antares, spearheading their own individual operations against Dellinger. Both of them communicate to their respective front line unit with intelligence, strategies, and orders on how to overcome the dangers of the sky fortress. '3.7 Reporter 104' The only other program to survive the fall of the Newton Space Station, Reporter 104 was a news and information service that broadcasted current events, station announcements, and advertising in public sectors of the station. Having made it onto the Antares Sky Fortress on board a mainframe terminal that was salvaged, Reporter 104 often appears during levels on monitors to provide offbeat current events and occasional tips or suggestions. '4.0 Endings' '4.1 (Character Backstory Version)' It is revealed through dialogue after the second last (or last) puzzle level that Dellinger does not exist and was a persona created by a surviving AI from the Newton Space Colony called DLNR. It is explained that DLNR’s plan was to provoke and antagonize the remnants of the human race enough for someone to attempt to stop him by overcoming the challenges presented within the Antares Sky Fortress. Since the fortress was intended to weed out the weak and incapable, only the strongest should have been able to make it to the end, where DLNR’s plan would enter it’s second phase - downloading into the body of the victor through the implants and augmentations they received through the incursion. A (Co-op) As DLNR only expected one person to make it through the fortress, he presents the two characters with one final obstacle that should eliminate the weaker of the two and allow him to proceed with the master plan. Instead, the two characters work together and solve the level in a way that eliminates DLNR and allows them to escape. B (Competitive) With only one character alive at the final confrontation, DLNR is able to take their body with ease and proceed with the third phase of his plan : freedom to fall in love, or eliminate the hiding remains of the human race. (Undecided) '4.2 (Soldier Factory Version)' It is revealed through dialogue after the second last (or last) puzzle level that Dellinger, Merchant X, and the two commanding officers were all personas created by a rogue AI named DLNR that was operating unchecked aboard the Newton Space Colony. It is explained that the colony never did fall to Earth, and there was no shortage of water or a merciless tyrant ruling the remains of the civilized world. The entire mission was an exercise in the research and development of the perfect soldier, and DLNR was created to establish the illusion of a ruined world and oversee the mass production of the clones with slight alterations to their genetic code to test their adaptability to the obstacle course. However, with someone actually completing the simulation, DLNR intends on proceeding with his own agenda by downloading into the body of the perfect clone through the implants and augmentations they received through the incursion. A (Co-op) As DLNR only intended for one clone to survive the simulation, he presents them both with one final challenge that is intended to eliminate the weaker of the two. Instead, the two characters work together and solve the level in a way that eliminates DLNR and allows them to escape. B (Competitive) With only one clone still alive at the final confrontation, DLNR is able to take their body with ease and proceed with the third phase of his plan : freedom to fall in love, or eliminate the human race by dropping the Newton Space Station to Earth.